Tunisia’s Free Destourian Party Challenges Ennahda Movement’s Legitimacy

Some supporters of Head of Tunisia’s opposition Free Destourian Party Abir Moussa, who accuses Ennahda Party of executing the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda in Tunisia (EPA)
Some supporters of Head of Tunisia’s opposition Free Destourian Party Abir Moussa, who accuses Ennahda Party of executing the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda in Tunisia (EPA)
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Tunisia’s Free Destourian Party Challenges Ennahda Movement’s Legitimacy

Some supporters of Head of Tunisia’s opposition Free Destourian Party Abir Moussa, who accuses Ennahda Party of executing the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda in Tunisia (EPA)
Some supporters of Head of Tunisia’s opposition Free Destourian Party Abir Moussa, who accuses Ennahda Party of executing the Muslim Brotherhood’s agenda in Tunisia (EPA)

Head of Tunisia’s opposition Free Destourian Party Abir Moussa has challenged the legal license granted to Ennahda Islamic Movement since January 2011.

Moussa stressed in a press conference on Tuesday that Ennahda was “formed in contradiction to the legal formulas.”

She presented a document signed by Head of the Movement Rached Ghannouchi, dating back to January 28, 2011.

The document includes a permit to establish the movement, while Ghannouchi was not at the time in the country, which makes it possible to “challenge the legitimacy of licensing the movement in political activity,” she noted.

After submitting a request to the Ministry of Relations with Constitutional Bodies, Civil Society, and Human Rights to have access to information, Moussa said she was able to obtain the legal file for the Movement’s establishment and found out it was “illegal and the documents included are not complete.”

The opposition leader stressed she will file an appeal before the Administrative Court to cancel the license, while preserving the right to resort to legal proceedings against whoever facilitated and participated in granting Ennahda the license.

Moussa affirmed she will sue former Interior minister Farhat Rajhi for granting a license for Ennahda in 2011 without meeting legal requirements.

It is noteworthy that Ennahda Movement was banned from the political activity during the ruling of Presidents Habib Bourguiba and Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

It regained its position in the political scene after the 2011 revolution and became one of the most present and influential political parties.

The Free Destourian Party has recently submitted a bill to the parliament, in which it proposed classifying the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

According to observers, this bill mainly targets Ennahda Movement, as Moussa accuses it of not abandoning its relationship with the organization and still representing a branch for it in Tunisia despite being classified as terrorist by some countries.



Iraq Closes Three Iran Crossings, Pursues Those Behind Attacks on Saudi Arabia

Travelers at the Shalamsheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran after Iraqi authorities ordered its closure as a precautionary measure following the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia on September 12, 2026 (Reuters)
Travelers at the Shalamsheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran after Iraqi authorities ordered its closure as a precautionary measure following the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia on September 12, 2026 (Reuters)
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Iraq Closes Three Iran Crossings, Pursues Those Behind Attacks on Saudi Arabia

Travelers at the Shalamsheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran after Iraqi authorities ordered its closure as a precautionary measure following the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia on September 12, 2026 (Reuters)
Travelers at the Shalamsheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran after Iraqi authorities ordered its closure as a precautionary measure following the latest drone attacks on Saudi Arabia on September 12, 2026 (Reuters)

Iraq closed three border crossings with Iran on Saturday, officials told AFP, after a drone attack on a Saudi Arabian pipeline that both Riyadh and Baghdad said was launched from Iraq.

An Iraqi security source and a government official told AFP that authorities ordered the closing of three border crossings with Iran.

The security source said the decision was "part of an intelligence effort to track down the perpetrators and prevent their escape... and to hinder the smuggling of drones through these crossings".

Both sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media, could not specify when the crossings would reopen.

The closed crossings are Shalamsheh in Basra province, al-Shib in Missan and al-Mandali in the central province of Diyala.

Other border crossings with Iran are still open.

A security official said that "security forces found drone launchers near the Iraq-Iran border in the al-Tib" region, a remote part of Missan, close to the al-Shib crossing. A second security source gave the same account.

Military spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said the prime minister had approved "Iran's request to conduct a joint investigation into finding drone launch platforms near the Iraq-Iran border".

The government's security media cell said earlier that authorities "have started administrative and security reorganization operations at several border crossings".

It added that they had stepped up "intelligence activities" to determine "the breaches and violations that took place at these crossings".

It later announced that passengers stranded for hours at two crossings were permitted to pass.


Al-Halbousi Condemns Attacks on Saudi Arabia

Iraqi Speaker of parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi speaks with the news media as he departs the Department of State after meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Washington, on March 28, 2019. (AP)
Iraqi Speaker of parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi speaks with the news media as he departs the Department of State after meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Washington, on March 28, 2019. (AP)
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Al-Halbousi Condemns Attacks on Saudi Arabia

Iraqi Speaker of parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi speaks with the news media as he departs the Department of State after meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Washington, on March 28, 2019. (AP)
Iraqi Speaker of parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi speaks with the news media as he departs the Department of State after meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Washington, on March 28, 2019. (AP)

Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Haibat Al-Halbousi strongly condemned the attacks targeting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that originated from within Iraqi territory.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Al-Halbousi rejected the use of Iraq's territory or airspace to threaten Saudi Arabia's security or that of any neighboring state, describing such actions as unacceptable violations that contradict Iraq's national interests, stated foreign policy, and regional relations.

Al-Halbousi emphasized the critical need to restrict weapons exclusively to the state and its constitutional institutions under the authority of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

He stressed that enforcing state control over arms is vital to reinforcing national sovereignty, preserving domestic stability, and preventing Iraq from being drawn into wider regional conflicts.


Lebanese Army Detains Bashar Assad’s Relative on Weapons and Drugs Charges

Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad - File Photo
Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad - File Photo
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Lebanese Army Detains Bashar Assad’s Relative on Weapons and Drugs Charges

Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad - File Photo
Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad - File Photo

Lebanese authorities have detained a relative of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad along with the son of a notorious drug dealer in northeast Lebanon on charges of carrying weapons and drugs, officials and the Lebanese army said Saturday.

Suleiman Assad and Ali Zeiter, son of Noah Zeiter, the suspected drug trafficker arrested last year, were detained Friday near the northeastern city of Baalbek, said the two judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Suleiman Assad is the son of Hilal Assad, a cousin of the ousted president, The AP news reported.

A number of Syrian officials and relatives of Assad have fled from Syria to other countries including Lebanon, after the five-decade Assad family rule came to an end in December 2024, when the opposition seized power. Bashar Assad and his younger brother, Maher, have been living in Russia.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that it detained three people, including a Syrian citizen who did not have documents proving that he is staying legally in Lebanon.

The army said they had weapons with them along with hashish, a drug that is processed from cannabis that are widely planted in northeast Lebanon. The army did not release the names but the initials of their first and family names matched those of Assad and Zeiter. The army said they were questioned under the supervision of judicial officials.

The arrest of Suleiman Assad comes weeks after Lebanon handed over to Syrian authorities a retired major general who commanded a division in Bashar Assad’s army.